Phil Collins

Dance Into The Light

Back to the Future for Phil Collins - Sort of!

Review Score:

(8/10)
"There's no drum machine on this one!!" is what Phil Collins put in the liner notes on his sixth studio album from 1996 - "Dance Into The Light". This was an obvious reference to the criticism he drew on his previous studio album "Both Sides" in which he played all of the instruments by himself and used a drum machine. But it was more than that - on "Both Sides" he abandoned much of the formula that made brought him great success during the 1980s. The quote by Phil shows that his sense of humor has returned - something that was sorely missing on the "Both Sides" album. Not only is Phil's humor back, but so are some of the things that made Phil successful. As always, Phil Collins will do some new things - so it isn't a complete reversal back to the old days.

"Dance Into The Light" does look a little different from the looks of the album. This is the first studio album done by Phil that doesn't have a full head shot across the cover. Phil's previous 5 studio albums all featured a full head shot on either a dark or dreary type of background. On this CD, this features a full body shot of Phil "dancing" on a very bright orange background. Instead of his name being off in the corner or close to the edge, it is written directly across in big "Phil Collins handwriting" script. The title of the album is not in Phil Collins script (first time on a studio album). Finally, this is Phil's first album to be directly named for a song ("Both Sides" was a take of the song "Both Sides of the Story").

Musically - before "Both Sides", the formula for Phil's solo career was pretty simple: 1) The integration horns into many of the songs; 2) The Thundering, Haunting Drums of Phil Collins (i.e. "In the Air Tonight Style) with an infusion of keyboards (and guitar on "No Jacket Required" and "...But Seriously). 3) The Use of a Solid Supporting Band. On the first two albums he did there also was a"dark psychedelic" element. For "Both Sides" this formula was completely abandoned. On "Dance Into The Light", Phil brings the horns back. It is not the Phenix Horns, but now Vine St. Horns (led by Serious Tour trumpeteer Harry Kim). Phil brings back a solid studio band. Daryl Stuermer returns on lead guitar. Gone is Leland Sklar, the long bearded and very talented bassist. Nathan East takes Sklar's place. Another significant member is background vocalist Arnold McCuller (also an alumnus of the Serious Tour). The haunting drums aren't quite as visible as on previous albums. The song "Oughta Know By Now" has the trademark Thundering, Haunting Drums of Phil. Phil still has a presence for drums, but will now do it in different ways - most notably an African style percussion that can be heard on "Lorenzo" and "River So Wide". Overall, I think there is a stronger influence toward the keyboards than to the guitar (similar to his first two albums). Finally, on "...But Seriously", Phil put a "serious" element into his music (while having fun). On "Both Sides", that continued (without the fun). Now on "Dance Into the Light", the serious element remains (and the fun is back).

The title track is the first song on the album. We can immediately hear Phil go back to his roots with the sound of the Vine Street Horns. While "Dance Into The Light" is a nice song, it isn't one of Phil's best. I think it is one of his weaker songs he has done. Perhaps the only reason why the album got titled after this song is the "brighter" outlook this album brings compared to previous ones. The horns are alive in well on the song "Wear My Hat". This song has become a favorite in recent years when done live. The song has almost a "comedic skit like" element and is a lot of fun to listen to. Another solid song that features horns and a "skit like element" (a little less comedic) is the song "Take Me Down". The horns also turn up on "It's in Your Eyes" - this is another good song that got some airplay on radio. Finally the song "Oughta Know By Now" - this song really has the "Classic Phil" element - the thundering drums, an R&B feel, good guitar and keyboards, and of course - the horns.

Phil still has his "serious" side. He co-wrote a song called "Lorenzo" with the late Michaela Odone. This song was inspired by the movie "Lorenzo's Oil" in which Odone tried to find a cure for her son's rare disease. This has some great African drums as does the song "River So Wide" (not as serious but both songs are good). Another "serious" song is "Just Another Story" - basically a song about "going too far" when doing something that is wrong.

Phil also does a remake of the Bob Dylan classic "The Times They Are A-Changin". This is a terrific cover by Phil. It stars slow, but then builds up and slowly integrates the other instruments (including bagpipes played by Phil). Phil does a better version than Bob Dylan and it is the perfect wrap-up to this collection. It is almost prophetic on what would happen with Phil's future in the music business.

The colleciton features lyrics and musician credits for each song. Phil doesn't include any one line quotes like he did on "Both Sides". This album should help keep the core fans happy, but the changes in the music industry (namely rise of "alternative music") hurt Phil and as a result this album didn't sell as well as it should have. However, this album shouldn't be ignored. While not the homerun of his first 4 albums, it is still very good.

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